resistance

I have been flying through the dozens of articles I’d bookmarked (not to mention the tens of windows I kept open on my phone), transferring ones I’ve found useful to the #resistance pages on this blog.

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Today we’re focusing on setting priorities and not burning out. As my spouse said to me the other day – and I’m sure many of you have had similar conversations – “how are we going to survive four years of this?”

There are two questions here: how will we as individuals get through the next four years, especially if this careening rollercoaster cart continues to jump the track? But even more pressing, how will the country survive?

The answer, of course, is by doing what we’ve been doing for the past week. We call our members of Congress, we join Facebook groups with other local activists (and we show up for meetings and actions), we donate to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood and all of the other amazing groups doing amazing work, we stay vigilant, we protest and march.

Show me what democracy looks like? This is what democracy looks like!

But if you, like me, get a squidgy feeling when you’re away from social media and the news for too long, because you’re afraid you’re going to miss the latest development, you might also be wondering, how am I going to maintain the energy and drive to do this for four freaking years?

I’ve found some great guidance from Jen Hofmann’s weekly action checklist. Before you even jump into more activism, Jen has you figure out what your top three issues are (I know, only three!) and then determine what kind of actions you will take. You are directed to talk about your issues and action plan with friends and family. And then you set up time in your schedule to do the action.

We do this so we don’t burn out. Instead it’s the slow burn, as Jen calls it. It’s been really helpful for me to focus on my priorities and organize without getting overwhelmed. (Well, for the most part, at least.)

More on my top three priorities and actions soon. But let’s talk – how are you taking care of yourself during this hectic time?